Amsterdam Masterclass: EPO Oppositions & Appeals

This masterclass will provide you with an intensive and practical overview of all relevant legal and practical issues concerning opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO.

• Opposition Proceedings in the light of RPBA: drafting notice of opposition anticipating admissibility hurdles, substantive examination, burden of proof
• Oral proceedings, taking of evidence, amendments to the patent
• Appeal Proceedings: important conclusions from recent case law on Art 12, 13 RPBA, substantive examination, final phase of appeal proceedings; remittal to department of first instance; reformatio in peius, res judicata and ratio decidendi, reimbursement of appeal fee
• Petition for review: principles and practical guidance

Do you work in a corporate patent, IP or legal department or as external patent attorney and deal regularly with opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO? Then this Masterclass is designed for you.

The revised Rules of Procedure of the Boards of Appeal (RPBA 2020) and the respective case law developed by the Boards of Appeal have significantly changed the landscape for both opposition and appeal proceedings. They have a decisive impact on how the parties should present their case right from the beginning in order to avoid any later procedural and legal hurdles or pitfalls. It is emerging that invalid patents may be upheld if an opponent does not adequately present its case from the outset. For a patentee, valuable inventions may lose patent protection if procedural hurdles are not timely anticipated.

This masterclass will therefore provide you with an intensive overview of all relevant legal and practical issues concerning opposition and appeal proceedings before the EPO, taking into account the most recent case law. In this highly interactive course, the speakers will explain all the important aspects of these proceedings, starting with the preparation of the opposition, covering the drafting of the notice of opposition, and concluding with the procedure before the opposition division of the EPO, as well as the potential subsequent appeal proceedings. In addition to the legal, formal and substantive requirements and particularities of contentious proceedings, the speakers will discuss useful tactical and strategic aspects. The individual parts of the seminar will be rounded up by tips for your own practice.

• You will be up to date on the most recent case-law on the EPO opposition and appeal proceedings
• You will improve tactical and strategic approach to the proceedings
• You will have grown your network with like-minded professionals